Liquid-fuel furnace



R. MACKIE.

LIQUID FUEL FURNACE. APPLICATION man SEPT. 23, 1920.

1,436 888. I Patented. Nov. 28, 1922. I

Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

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LIQUID-FUEL FURNACE.

Application filed September 23, 1920. Serial No. 412,257.

To all to from, it may canoe rn Be it known that I, ROBERT Maonrn, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at lvoolston, in the county of I-Iants, England, have invented Improvements in Liquid-Fuel Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to liquid fuel furnaces supplied with forced draught and adapted to burn oil alone or coal alone, or both coal and oil simultaneously, the solid fuel, when used, being. fed into the furnace through a firing entrance arranged below a liquid fuel burner and controlled by a door.

The object of the present invention is to ensure that when the furnace is being fired by solid and liquid fuel, the supply of oil to the burner shall be cut off when the furnace door is opened for the admission of solid.

For this purpose the furnace door is, according to the invention, provided with means such as a simple lip or projection adapted, whilst the door is being opened, to act upon a member which cuts off the oil supply if such supply has not already been cut Such an arrangement is simple in construction, and certain in its action. Moreover, the furnace door can at all times be directly opened and closed without the manipulation of locking means which involve unnecessary loss of time.

The accompanying drawing shows in front elevation, one half of a liquid fuel furnace embodying the invention, the furnace being one adapted to burn liquid fuel or solid fuel at will.

In this example the oil supply pipe a is fitted with a valve 7) arranged to one side of but below a furnace door 0 made in two parts turning on vertical hinges. The operating spindle d for this valve extends partly across the furnace front 6 below the furnace door 0 and is mounted to rock in bearings f 7 bolted to the furnace front. Fixed on the spindle d at one side of the furnace door is'an operating handle 9 and below the central part of the door, a safety catch in the form of a simple lever arm h is fixed on the valve spindle (Z in such position that the free end of such safety catch or lever, when the oil valve 6 is open, is located in the path of a downwardly extending lug m on the furnace door a or as in the example shown on each half of the furnace door, so that if inadvertently the cutting off of the oil supply by the hand lever y has been overlooked the act of opening the furnace door or either half thereof, would result in the lug m thereon acting on the safety catch or lever 7t and thereby rocking the valve spindle (Z so as to cut off the oil supply.

As usual in furnace fronts of the kind to which the invention relates, valves for controlling the admission of air for combustion of coal and oil are provided and these valves may be operated from the oil valve spindle d through suitable links and levers. In the example, a and 0 are horizontal spindles to which the air valves are connected in the usual manner, these spindles being provided respectively with lever arms a and 0 that are connected to links n and 0 the lower of which is connected to a lever arm p fixed upon the valve spindle cl. As will be seen, when the spindle (Z is turned to close the oil supply valve 6, either by the hand lever g, or automatically by the lug m acting on the lever arm h when the fire door 0 is opened, the spindles n and 0 will be operated to close the air valves, these air valves being again opened when the air supply valve is again opened.

What I claim is 1. In a furnace of the kind described adapted to burn both liquid fuel and solid fuel. the herein described means for ensuring interruption of the liquid fuel supply when the furnace door is opened to admit solid fuel, comprising an oil supply pipe, a valve rotatable about a horizontal axis, a horizontal spindle for the operation of such valve located between the furnace door, stationary bearings for said spindle, a hand lever upon the spindle whereby it can be turned in valve closing and in valve opening directions, a depending lug upon the lower edge of the furnace door adjacent to the vertical edge remote from the door hinge and a lever upon the spindle arranged in the path of the lug on the door and adapted when the latter is opened, to rock the spindle into valve closing position in the event of the same not having been so moved previously by the hand lever, substantially as described.

2. In a furnace of the kind described adapted to burn both liquid fuel and solid fuel, a furnace door made in two halves mounted to turn about vertical axis at their remote edges and having depending lugs at their adjacent vertical edges, an oil supply pipe, a valve rotatable about a horizontal axis, a horizontal spindle for the operation of said valve, located below the furnace door, stationary bearings for said spindle, a hand lever upon said spindle whereby it can he turned in valve opening and valve closing directions at will and a lever upon said'spindle arranged in the path of the lugs upon the two parts of the door and adapted When either part or both parts of the door is or are opened, to rock the spindle into valve closing position in the event of the same not having been so moved previously by the hand lever, substantially as {described 3. In a furnace of the kind herein described adapted to burn both liquid fuel and solid fuel, a furnace door having a depending lug, an oil supply pipe, a valve rotatable about a horizontal axis, a horizontal spindle for opening and closing said valve, located below the furnace door, a crank arm on said spindle, stationary bearings for said spindle, air supply valves for said furnace, horizontal spindles for opening and closing said air valves, a lever arm on each of the air valve spindles, links connecting the lever arms on the latter spindles to the crank arm on the oil valve spindle, a hand lever on the latter spindle whereby the oil and air valves can be opened together or closed together, and a lever on the said latter spindle arranged in the path of the lug on the door and adapted, when the latter is opened, to rock the oil valve spindle and through the lever and link connections, also to rock the air valve spindles so as to close the oil and air valves in the event of the same not having been closed by operation of the hand lever, substantially as described.

Signed at Southampton, England, this eighth day of September, 1920.

ROBERT MACKIE. 

